


Revenge and A Little More (Natsu Dragneel)

by FireDragonRoar000_what_the_fucdge_rin



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, F/M, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Hate to Love, Hate to friendship, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Natsu END - Freeform, Natsu x oc - Freeform, Protective Natsu Dragneel, Romance, Suicidal Thoughts, he isn't as oblivious, ish, mentions of abuse, natsu dragneel is smart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 06:22:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26847355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireDragonRoar000_what_the_fucdge_rin/pseuds/FireDragonRoar000_what_the_fucdge_rin
Summary: There's a fine line between hate and love, that line is especially thin when it comes to the infamous Natsu Dragneel.If you're sensitive to the following things or a minor please do not read or interact:Suicidal thoughtsViolenceGoreSexual contentDepressionI'd like everyone to keep their mental health in good shape and not be the cause of spiraling depression or anything like that.
Relationships: Erza Scarlet & Original Female Character(s), Gajeel Redfox & Original Character(s), Gray Fullbuster & Original Female Character(s), Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Happy/Carla, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Laxus Dreyar/Mirajane Strauss, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Lucy Heartfilia & Original Female Character(s), Lucy Heartfilia/Loke, Natsu Dragneel/Original Female Character(s), Zeref Dragneel/Mavis Vermillion
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	1. 1: Interesting People

**Author's Note:**

> Fairy Tail and its characters do NOT belong to me, only my OCs.  
> If you're sensitive to the following things or a minor please do not read or interact:  
> Suicidal thoughts  
> Violence  
> Gore  
> Sexual content  
> Depression  
> I'd like everyone to keep their mental health in good shape and not be the cause of spiraling depression or anything like that.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra confronts the subject of her nightmares and stumbles into uncharted territory.

** 1: Interesting People **

" _I hate you_!"

Never in her eighteen years of life had she dared to say those words and she utterly despised how they felt leaving her trembling lips. However, they were the only ones to communicate the fiery sensation in her chest, the one that festered the moment it scorched her sensitive flesh, turned the home she grew up into ash, when several members of her family fell into magically induced comas to keep from suffering, and the moment her life fell apart.

Liquid pools of amber-hazel glared through the shadows of the hood shielding her mangled face, but the effect against the owner of those wide, onyx orbs she was seething at was cut by half because her left eye was blocked by thick wrappings of gauze.

"I hate you," she repeated, voice hoarse from emotion and over a day of disuse. "I hate you and I wish you'd _burn_ for what you've done!"

His wide onyx eyes blinked, confused while the cheery atmosphere filled with amused bickering, drinking, and laughter abruptly ended.

Ezra didn't care. She didn't care if she was the dark stain to their sunny dispositions. They were hoarding a fire crazed beast; a destructive demon, with them.

The tan, salmon-haired man dressed in an open, orange-trimmed black vest and waistcoats with trousers tied off at the ends with black ribbons shifted in his sandals, his expression a healthy mix of caution and offense. 

It pissed her off.

"Listen-." the pinkette began, her eyes dropping to his outstretched hands when he used them to try and placate her standoffish form. Like she was the wild animal and not him...

Her temper flared beneath her prickling skin. "I don't want to hear what you have to say," she snapped, voice cracking. "I want you to pay!"

The offense in his eyes won against the caution and he used the height he had on her to encase her in his shadow and glower down his tan nose at her. "You're the one coming into our guildhall, telling someone you've never met you hate them!" he exclaimed. She flinched when a warding hand shot in front of a pretty blonde's concerned face when she murmured something, trying to soothe his disposition. "If anything, you're the one who should be paying me."

The blonde grew physically agitated, causing her own to ramp up to a whole new level. "Natsu," the chocolate-eyed girl hissed, glancing from her trembling body to her friend and back. Her lips pursed. "Maybe you should-."

"Come to my office-" a collective breath of relief filled the air, Ezra's boiling hazel cutting to the three-foot-tall greyed man who stood calmly between her and the pinkette.

She shifted her weight to the other foot, glad for the hood guarding her surely surprised gape.

How he got between her and that monster so quick and quiet she would never know. It made her cautious. It made her want to scratch because his sudden appearance stressed her healing body out. Ezra refused to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing her any weaker than she already was.

She made sure to watch him, the three-foot-tall man, his gnarled with age hands folding neatly behind his back while his booze-thick scent reeked of wisdom and composure. It made her stomach roll. "Matters such as this need to occur behind closed doors."

Ezra swallowed a thick, wriggling ball of negative emotion and clenched her jaw. "Because it doesn't matter or you wish to keep what you've been letting him-" she glared daggers at the offending man, her hostility with him lifting its snarling head and he scowled. "-Keep doing?"

The thin smile the old man wore grew taut. "Missy, I assure you whatever your strife with our guild is-."

A harsh laugh spilled from her scowling mouth, interrupting him. " _Strife_?" she repeated. The hazel-eyed girl shrouded in an oversized trenchcoat snarled a hiccupped sob under her breath while she tried searching for the strength needed to get her through this nightmare.

Finally, she met their eyes -the pinkette's more than the old man's- and extended her arms. "What I have for you and your guild is no _strife_ , old man," she sneered and swallowed down a thick wad of self-hatred that came bubbling up.

Ezra clawed at the hood covering her face, hesitated, and she tore it from over her head revealing her bandaged features to the world since she first donned her shield. "I have _hatred_ for you, Salamander" she hissed, salty tears burning her healing cheek from beneath the gauze that kept her injuries free of infection. "And I want nothing more than to do what you've done to me, to you and your cult of a guild!"

The pinkette's scowl fell, onyx orbs rounding as they took in the left side of her tear-soaked, agonized face. He no longer looked surly or offended the more he looked, his open face was twisted with so much horror and surprise it made her waver some. She tried not to, pulling stubbornly through with letting him and his little friends see just the beginning of what their recklessness caused.

She was out to get them and she wouldn't stop until every tortured soul back home was avenged. Letting that thought fuel her, Ezra let her head fall back, letting him see the extent of how much her skin was burned.

From the center of her forehead to the base of her neck, all on her left side, she hurt. She was in agony. The lightest brush of her bandages against her burns felt like someone dragging a brick over her skin.

She would've shown the rest of her wounds, there were more winding up her left arm and along her torso but showing the ones on her face alone was demeaning enough.

Ezra swallowed another batch of sobs down, gritting her teeth before continuing. "My home was turned to ash because of you," she rasped, emotion thick in her wavering tone. "My family were placed under comas so they could rest and wouldn't feel pain...," burgundy waves curtained her sweating face when she lowered her trembling chin against her clavicle. "I-I was supposed to be hospitalized with them," Ezra choked, squeezing her eyes shut. Her muddled, distracted thoughts rebound to her blood ties. "My family is trapped in their heads until they're well enough!" her eyes flashed open, her head shooting up to glare daggers up at the silent pinkette. "My village is suffering from having all their crops burned and it's all because- all because of you!" she yelled, panting from the effort and idly rubbed the tenderness of her chest before reaching and swiping treacherous tears away.

Another thick swallow filled the otherwise silent air, the burgundy haired woman dropping her stare to Salamander's master. "And you...," she breathed, choking back another sob.

His expression was crumbled, lips pressed in a thin line to compose himself. 

_If this were any other situation_ , she thought to herself, glaring viciously into his melancholic black eyes. _If my parents and brother weren't suffering_... Ezra would feel awful causing such an old man emotional grief.

"This is no guild," she spat, twisting on her heel towards the double doors she stormed through minutes before. "It's a _joke_."

She stalked through the throng of shell-shocked guild members and reached for her hood to yank it back over her head.

With a firm shove to the exit, she was out of the darkened atmosphere of the infamous Fairy Tail guild and into the sunny streets of Magnolia, ignoring the muted mutters that broke out once she was out of sight.

She disregarded the bout of doubt that was creeping in and slammed it over its defensively muttering head with the largest metaphorical weapon she could find lying around in her mind.

Ezra said what had to be said. It was a long time coming for the guild to look its victim in the eyes and suffer. And suffer they would. She would be back to this quaint little town and its infamous hot-spot with the magic council to revoke their rights to call themselves Fairy Tail.

If they took up that name, they would be what she already considered them to be. A dark guild.

The burgundy-haired mage hobbled through the throngs of people, sore feet leading her to the outskirts of town where there was less foot traffic and opportunities for strangers to knock against her wounds.

Ezra would rather she travel by train -cooler air would be heaven- but she didn't have the funds for a ticket because that pink-haired demon turned their crops to ash and their village to ruins.

She sighed pausing in the middle of a bridge that led to the surrounding forestry and peered over her shoulder in the direction of Fairy Tail. Guilt slinked its head up, a nauseous feeling twisting her gut when she recalled all she said and the look on the master's face.

 _No_ , she thought, hands balling at her sides. Ezra faced the forest, lips pulling painfully into a determined line. _Everything I said was right!_ She marched on, ignoring the pain in her stomach and focusing on the burning agony beneath her bandages. _This is what his negligence caused!_

~~

The hazel-eyed young adult sipped from her flask, narrowed orbs cut to the map resting in her lap with her mouth twisted into an irate pout.

An hour into her journey home and she was lost. Completely, utterly lost.

She was a mile or so from Magnolia's borders but instead of going west like she originally thought, she had been going southeast. Reading maps and following the sun when it hung in the middle of the sky was always difficult for her. She knew and understood that it rose in the west and set in the east but what did it do in between? Which direction was which?

Ezra's flask slipped through her finger and she hissed when it collided with one of the stray, nearly healed burns on her thigh. "Stupid fire-lizard!" she seethed to the surrounding forestry and automatically deflated when no bubbly chuckle answered her.

 _That's right_ , her head bowed, eyes stinging with unshed tears. Yasha is home healing.

She was alone.

Sucking down a watery breath, Ezra slid from her perch onto the mossy ground beneath her. She tucked her map into a random pocket of her trousers, legs carrying her to the clear spring trickling its path to the unknown.

The burgundy haired girl dropped into a steady tuck and balanced out with extended arms while she leaned to fill the container up, idly tapping the earth until the flask was filled.

She hummed, rising to her feet and rubbed the dirt off on her pants, quick fingers then screwing the cap in. She put the container away in one of her many pockets, glancing this way and that for a sign -not there would be any in the middle of the woods- of civilization but there was nothing but colorful and bright nature.

Annoyed, her gaze sank to the plants lining the spring and she recognized a couple that would help her wounds.

She hunkered down once more, inching closer to the herbs to better identify them from her teachings. Ezra spied a few mint stems and plucked them while muttering a mediocre spell to keep them preserved for another couple of days -just in case- and repeated the process with different plants until her muscles ached from being kept in the same position for an extended amount of time and her pockets bulged.

Satisfied and aching, the hazel-eyed girl clambered to her feet with a grimace -after washing her hands free of dirt- and latched her trench coat pockets closed in case the herbs tried spilling out.

Ezra shouldered on, making sure to remind herself to keep an eye out for more plants while she hopped over fallen trees and avoided areas with a lot of predator tracks. Which was surprisingly a lot.

She had spotted quite a few during her journey, most of them belonging to creatures on four legs.

The young adult eyed another set, curiosity getting the best of her as she crouched to observe them better.

Whatever it was had odd shaped paws. A stretched heel that met the sole and then stretched a couple more inches with oval foot pads embedded into the damp earth.

Her head cocked with intrigue. _Vulcans?_ she wondered and dismissed the thought. The tracks looked too small for the pervy monkeys. _What do these belong to?_ She tilted her head to the other side, ignoring the pull of her healing skin, and focused more on the alarm she felt creeping in over the guilt that lingered from _them_.

A snively laugh filled the forest and she outright flinched at the sound of it, stiffening when more in different pitches followed after the first.

Slowly, very slowly, she stood, cautiously peering over her leather-clad shoulder and blanching at the number of men and women -a majority of them men- standing behind her. None of them looked nice, not their dirt shredded clothes, their bodies, or even the yellow stained smiles some of them aimed at her. 

_Looks are deceiving_ she assured herself and glanced to the one closest to her, a woman, when a flash of silver caught the late afternoon sun. _Maybe not_...

The stranger whistled lowly, breaking Ezra's focus on the hands she held behind her back and lifted to witness the sneer she was receiving. "Wow, girly," she crooned, another quick flash catching the girl's shifty hazel. "A boyfriend do that to ya?" the dirty woman demanded, jabbing a rude finger towards her.

Ezra's lips pursed, eyes flicking nervously to the knife the woman was twirling between her dextrous fingers. "I-I wouldn't call him a friend," she trailed, wishing she didn't shed her hood earlier on in her journey. "Maybe a-."

The stranger snickered, as did several of the others in their company. "Stupid fire-lizard?" the woman supplied, her grin widening while hazel orbs exploded in size. "That's an interestin' thing to call someone..."

Her goonies cackled and Ezra wished nothing more than funds for a train ride.

Sure there would be jerks onboard but not gross, stalker-murderers!

How long were they following her? Since she left Magnolia? Fairy Tail? Her fumbling mind was scrambling for answers. Shouldn't she have noticed? Shouldn't her instincts have kicked in?

Hazel orbs scanned her surroundings, becoming more and more uneasy with each yellow-stained smile she counted.

There was close to thirty of them. They were all around her, blocking any chance of escape.

She knew outrunning them wouldn't have been a possibility, not with the numbers they had. Using her magic was out of the question unless she wanted to aid in her capture. She clenched her jaw and felt her hands ball into tight fists. What other options, other than giving in, were there?

She licked her dry lips, forcing a smirk on them. "Eavesdropping and stalking are interesting hobbies" Ezra jested, pleased with herself for not stuttering. Her one good eye could make out the scowl on the other woman's face and she offered her a half-hearted shrug. "I guess that makes both of us interesting people, don't you think?"

The warm, early spring air fell into a tension-fueled atmosphere, the tightness so high, the young adult could poke it and it would shatter.

"If _interestin'_ could be a burnt catastrophe, sure," the stranger quipped, the dig taking a further toll on Ezra's already fragile self-esteem. "Ya could still earn us a good sum o' Jewel," her eyes roamed over the burgundy haired girl's stiff body, lighting up with mild appreciation that had the younger girl shivering. "Nice hips 'nd great legs are real winners with dark guilds."

Disgust pooled in her dread heavy stomach. "I'm not a bargaining object!" she snapped, narrowing her hazel orb at the lady. "And I would very much appreciate it if you all let me through!"

Another round of laughter filled the forest, diminishing her budding hope.

"Honey," a man chuffed somewhere behind her, snickering under his breath. "Not only are ya _not_ completely ugly, you're a riot, too!" heavy footfalls and crunching grass alerted her of his approach. Her knees trembled, the breaths in her lungs leaving and coming faster and faster until she was a touch from hyperventilating. "I like that in a lady!"

The palm clapping against her injured shoulder was the cuffs locking her down in a sea of fire. There was no escape. He was too big to shake off. Too strong.

It burned. His hand. It felt like it was on fire.

Was there a fire? The acrid stenches of smoke and cooking flesh tickled her nose. Did he have fire magic?

The more she thought, the more it spread. It was swallowing her whole and before she knew it, Ezra was screaming, fighting the hands that clawed her burning arms.

She kicked, punched, clawed, anything to free the fire consuming her. She didn't want to be a pile of ash!

Ezra screamed some more, grunting when she was tossed to the hard ground. She hiccupped and sobbed, curling in a ball to keep from burning anymore than she already was.

Tears streamed and fell over her cheeks, the woman ripping off her bandages, feeling too confined, too hot to breathe.

In her mind, behind tightly clenched eyes, the fire that took everything from her raged on. Outside, in the real world, she was being scooped up from the soft earth and into the arms of the very person she despised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why didn't y'all tell me there were so many writing errors?? GAAAHHHHH!


	2. 2: Job Well Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu saves the damsel and shows her just how stubborn he is

**2: Job Well Done**

Natsu dropped the last of the group to the ground, half-tempted to bury his foot in their gut.

Deciding it wouldn't be very 'Fairy Tail' of him, he wiped his hands off on his waistcoat with an irate scowl before turning his onyx orbs to the dirty woman Happy, his little, blue feline pal, was restraining with magic binding cuffs.

"All done, Natsu!" the feline chirped and the pinkette nodded, muttering a short praise.

"Good job, little buddy," he grinned, scratching behind blue-furred ears when he drew close enough. Natsu knelt in front of the sniveling woman, her skinny frame dressed in rags and reeking of a month's worth of B.O. It was, in short, revolting.

His nose scrunched and he was thinking about edging a couple of feet away. He resisted, stubborn nature kicking through and making him stick it out like a trooper. "You, though," he continued on, jabbing a finger at her teary expression. The dragon slayer was no longer grinning. "You seem to think stalking girls with the intention of selling them's alright" he mused, scowling when she began blubbering about having mouths to feed, backs to clothe, bodies to wash. Bla, bla, bla, bla. 

"Enough!" he barked, the woman snapping her mouth shut and leaning from his sweltering aura.

Home was supposed to be a place of relaxation and tranquility, where he could go after a rough day and think over something without distractions. That something being the burgundy haired chick curled in a tight ball wearing less clothing than he last saw her in and more bruises blotching her blanched features.

The one who called his family a joke and claimed to hate him. The one who fell victim to his reckless magic usage and piss poor temper.

Home wasn't a place subjected to aiding a few dirty bandits in capturing someone for their own gain.

The head bandit sniveled, staring at him through watery eyes. "What're you-what are you gonna do?"

Natsu smirked, pulling a rolled paper from his waistband. He jerked it open and revealed the contents to her confused face. His smirk widened to reveal sharper than normal canines. "I'm gonna wait here until the military-police come and get my thirty-thousand jewel reward!"

Needless to say, she wasn't very happy about that. Her screams, wails, pleading, and bartering proof enough.

Natsu was unmoved. He could care less.

~

"Make sure you and your friends stay out of trouble!"

The pinkette grinned, shooting the stern-faced captain a cheeky thumbs up. "We'll try! Thanks, Capt'n!"

Someone cleared his throat. "Ah, Salamander?"

"Yeah?" he turned from the greying man's disapproving scowl with a chuckle and stiffened at the guard who was scrutinizing the chick who whimpered and cried even when there was no more danger.

The older man met his eyes, frowning. "Should we take her, too?" he asked. "She looks like she needs medical attention," the man paused, looking over her again. "And therapy."

Natsu grimaced, striding to the girl's side. He placed his hands flat on his hips and bent at the waist, peering over her bandaged, bruised, and red-blotched face with narrowed eyes.

Medical attention she needed, indeed.

He wasn't too sure what therapy was, it wasn't a word anywhere near his vocabulary and it fell from his jumbled mix of thoughts within seconds of learning it but he was sure she needed it, too, if it helped calm her.

"...No," he decided, meeting eyes with the military-cop again. "Happy and I can take care of her."

He looked skeptical, eyes bouncing from the pinkette, her, to his flying companion, and back. "You're not exactly known as the calming type, Mr. Salamander," the guard trailed, gaze falling to the girl. "And based on her injuries, fire shouldn't be something she's around unless absolutely necessary."

Natsu frowned at the older man, his ire beginning to trickle out. "She was like this when I came," he bit out, trying his best to keep a respectful tone. "We heard her screaming from home and ran here."

The uniformed man nodded slowly, not doubtful but pondering. "Do you know her?"

Natsu shrugged, cutting sharp eyes to the feline who stared back with a confused twist to his lips in warning before answering. "A bit," he lied and grinned. "You should've seen her earlier, she stopped Elfman in his tracks!" that was not a fib. When the friendly giant grew too close for her liking, the girl's one-eyed glare was just as effective as Erza's.

It's what initially drew his attention to the hate-filled girl.

He nodded again, Natsu watching as he stood to his full height. "Then I trust you to look after her!" the man beamed, nodding respectfully at the pinkette as he stepped around him and joined his platoon in cuffing the rest of the goons who attacked the girl now under his care.

Carefully, the pinkette scooped her whimpering form into his arms, maneuvering her into a comfier position as he snatched her trench coat off the ground. He placed it over her trembling body. making sure it wouldn't fall off while lowly calling for Happy, Natsu carried the girl through the forest, the whole time making sure he didn't accidentally smack her head against anything.

When they reached home, the dragon slayer requested for his companion to go ahead and gather the medical equipment they had, instructing him to place it all in their room.

Happy nodded and summoned his wings, flying off to complete his tasks.

Natsu heaved a worn sigh, onyx orbs falling to the girl. She was still out of it, brows scrunched, lips pursed... And a long, angry burn stretching from the left side of her forehead, was a hair's length from her eye, down her cheek, and followed the dips of her chin and neck.

There were no words to describe how ashamed he felt. For how guilty.

The slayer strode through the threshold of his home, grimacing as he edged around the table he tripped over in his haste to rescue the stranger in his arms.

He marched into his room, grinning at the small pile of aloe, antibiotic salve, and gauze Happy left on the bed.

Natsu set her down on the side closest to the bathroom, carefully guiding her head to the pillow before fully parting from her and getting to work patching her up.

By the time he was finished lathering the visible patches of burnt flesh -her arms and face- the pinkette was almost completely out of salve.

He shrugged, tossing both tubes over his shoulder, and began the task of wrapping her wounds with fresh gauze. Once finished, he fetched her a glass of water and placed it on the bedside table, Natsu taking a second to glance around his room, searching for anything he could think of that would soothe her when she came to.

His gaze landed on Happy, the blue ball of fluff staring at the girl from his feet, a pensive frown on his furry face. 

Girls normally calmed down when the little guy was around, especially the younger ones. 

"Natsu?"

Happy's timid voice shook him from his thoughts, the pinkette blinking from his daze and hummed. "What's up?" normally the sass ball didn't sound so shy. "Somethin' bothering you?"

Bid, dark eyes met his. "Why'd you lie to that guy?" the feline questioned. "Why'd you say we know her?"

Natsu pursed his lips, onyx eyes raising to the topic of his friend's concerns while mulling the question over and not quite knowing how to respond. He rubbed the back of his neck with a small curse, figuring what the hell, and tried to spit his thoughts out. "She's-" his voice fell quiet and he puffed a fiery breath of agitation. "She genuinely hates Fairy Tail," the dragon slayer muttered after another moment of thought. "...She hates me even more."

Happy remained silent and Natsu was grateful. The quiet let him think. Think of why he lied. Was it because he and the military-police couldn't give a damn about one another? To stick it to the man? Or because he wanted to prove to himself -and to her- he wasn't the monster she claimed him to be? That one felt a bit more right but it agitated him.

From the start, he never gave a crap about what anyone thought of him. Except for those he holds close to him. Their opinions and thoughts were the ones that mattered to him. But not Gray's. Gray could choke on his ice.

The job was what mattered. Getting it done and upholding Fairy Tail's name. Sure he was reckless and got a little carried away sometimes but it had been that way for as long as he could remember.

People complained and got the council involved but that was that. They'd all receive a scolding and that was that. Sometimes Gramps would make them wander back and fix the damage they laid down on some poor town -it happened to him more times than he could count- but everything would be okay after. Their clients remained loyal and everything was roses and daisies.

No one ever traveled to their guild, singled someone out, declared their complete and utter hatred on someone, showed the damage they were dealt, then left. No one until the girl unconscious in his bed.

It made him wonder if there were more people like her but he tried not to think of how many innocent people he accidentally hurt and breathed a bemused laugh, hopping back on topic while swiping a rough hand through his hair. "I guess -I guess wanna change her mind? Show her we're not as horrible as she thinks we are?"

"That's going to take more than saving her from being sold to the black market," Happy chimed, wise for his young age, and tossed the slayer a catty grin. "Making it up to her might take a lifetime, Natsu."

He tried not to wilt at the knowledge. "I know," the pinkette sighed and fiddled with his scarf. "I know," he paused, lips screwing up while his mind screamed at him for a reprieve. He needed to do something other than think. "Would you mind staying with her...?"

"Give me a large fishy and I'll consider it."

Natsu grinned. "You got it, buddy," he agreed, bending to ruffle the cat's fur. "I'll be back in a bit, 'kay?"

The feline hummed his acknowledgment, padding across the floor to climb on the bed and crawling across the wrinkly surface of the comforter until he was beside the object of the dragon slayer's troubles. Happy then curled into a ball, snuggling against her side with a soft sigh.

The pinkette left then, trusting the feline with her well-being, and rushed into town for more supplies to help her recovery and then to the closest body of water to capture the feline's gift and their dinner.

~

The slayer and his furred friend spent the next day loitering around their house, both wanting to visit the guild for varying reasons but neither dared to step a single paw or foot outside. Not when the girl was growing increasingly agitated as the hours went on.

At first, Natsu thought she was waking up, mentally and physically bracing himself for violence and insulting slurs but none of it came. Not once.

He was relieved. The pinkette wouldn't have to stare into her hateful eyes but as the day flew by without so much as a peek from them, his concern for her increased.

When he smelled for infection, there wasn't so much as a hint of it and couldn't be with how frequently he cleaned her wounds.

They were right there with her, having rushed to her side when they -he- heard the strangled breath she heaved.

"Maybe she's having a bad dream?" Happy supplied, large eyes concerned as they bounced from the whimpering stranger to him. "Do you think we should get Lucy? She seemed really concerned for her."

 _Concerned didn't even begin to cover what Lucy felt for her_ Natsu thought. While the blonde was a great friend and someone he held close, the pinkette didn't think she would do well in this situation. Mainly because of the scolding she would surely give. And the kick.

He sighed for the umpteenth time, setting a new 'sigh record' for him as Happy was glad to point out. "I don't know, buddy," Natsu grumbled and perched himself on the free side of the bed. "Bad dreams don't last this long... I think."

The feline shrank, dejected, before perking up again. "Do you think we should get Gray? Or Gramps?"

Natsu shivered at the options. "Nah, they'd be more interested in beating me up and calling me a perv."

"Erza then?"

The dragon slayer considered it before recalling a very important detail. "She's gone for an emergency mission for the next couple of days."

Happy was silent, pondering. "What about Mira?"

Natsu huffed. "Lucy would definitely notice," he objected, feeling like pulling out his hair. This was taking too long... "Should we try waking her up?" he muttered, appraising the pinkened flesh of her burns. They were beginning to scar. "Get her to eat something, hydrate, then move on?"

His blue-furred friend shot him the stink-eye. "What happened to making it up to her?" he demanded, sending him a feline scowl.

"I never said I wouldn't," he defended, frowning. His attention fell to the bandaged girl, the dragon slayer swiveling to cross his arms and lean them on his legs. "I just want her to wake up already."

As if he cast some sort of awakening spell, the girl shot up with a scream, a single pool of hazel wildly bouncing around the room while he tumbled onto the floor in a state of shock. When he righted himself, he found her sight already honed in on him.

The horror in her eye melted into pure malice, the same look she gave during their first meeting. "You," she snarled, still frightened but furious. "They sold me to you?!"

Before he could think of an appropriate response, Happy came to his rescue.

"Actually," he piped up, drawing her eyes to him. Natsu commended the cat for not flinching under the weight of her pressing stare but that was because her hatred softened to sharp discomfort. "Natsu's the one who rescued you from that," he informed and her widened eye darted to him. "He's not a monster," he assured, pulling her attention back to him. "He's not that bad once you get to know him."

 _'Not that bad'. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Happy_ he thought, frowning.

Her injured face twisted with a scowl but she relaxed some, hazel gaze drifting to her lap. "I _don't_ want to know him," she rebuked, her body visibly tensing all the more. "The only thing I _want_ from him is being locked away like he _deserves_."

A huff escaped from his mouth before he could stop it, earning himself a sharp look he pointedly ignored. "That's kinda cold, don't you think?" Natsu demanded, climbing onto the bed beside her. She side-eyed him, scooching closer to the edge to get away from him and he scowled at the action.

It was like she thought he was going to roast her if he got within a couple of feet of her. He was tired of it but, deep inside, Natsu understood. "If I were a monster," he began irately, trying his hardest to reign in his annoyance. "Would I have saved you? Kept your injuries clean?"

The girl blinked, silently and quickly appraising her arms as little fingers rose to graze over her gauze covered cheek. When she found them covered, the fury in her expression faded and for a second, he thought he succeeded in cooling her off toward him until her hand fell to her lap, a heated glare on her face that she leveled on him without hesitation. "That was to prove your point" she dismissed, infuriating his quick temper.

"Yeah," he huffed, rolling his eyes. Frustration coiled in his stomach, wanting him to lash out at her for her stubbornness. "I'm in the habit of saving people who insult me, my home, and family!" the pinkette snapped.

Her mouth opened, ready to retort something until her trap fastened shut. "Look," she snarled, visibly frustrated. "I'm grateful for being saved," she confessed, practically spitting out the words like venom. "I am! But I'd rather it if you didn't bring me to your-" she suddenly stopped and peered around the space, seeming to blank out. "Home?" she turned to him, horrified and confused. "Is this your room?"

The dragon slayer bit back the scoff that wanted to come pouring out. "I'm not gonna let an injured chick sleep on the couch!" Natsu exclaimed, frowning. "That thing's uncomfortable after an hour, more so after a day!" he was tempted to ask what kind of person she took him for but thought better of it -Gramps would be proud- and instead scowled. "Then you'd have another reason to hate me."

Happy crawled to the hand she used to support her weight -her left- both agitated humans watching him lift the appendage and she let him place her hand between his ears.

She seemed to get an idea of what he wanted, small fingers crooking in a gentle scratch that had the cat purring.

Natsu took the calm moment to observe her relaxing frame, sharp eyes taking note of the soft, fond curl of her lips.

He allowed himself a short, cocky second knowing having the feline around would be a good call and continued with his examination.

Long, burgundy hair pooled over her right shoulder, keeping the waves away from the injured side of her neck. She was a little pudgier around the middle than he was used to, all the women in the guild small waisted with curves that were more than a little generous. She looked soft, he thought. Gentle curves, thin from labor but with the extra weight to keep warm on a chilly night. He wanted to feel how soft.

Telling himself to get a grip, the dragon grunted, tearing his eyes from her to glower out of the window where the late afternoon sun was sinking below the horizon. He shifted off his bed, turning his back to her. "I'll go get us some food," he grumbled, feeling her eyes land on him. "Stay here with Happy," he ordered, striding from the room and her trailing gaze. "I'll be back soon."

~

A little past nightfall, he staggered back home, sweat pouring down his face and body as he heaved his haul to the fire pit.

Natsu dumped the body from his shoulders onto the ground, rolling them and his neck to relieve the tension residing there since he met the hazel-eyed girl.

"I hope you know, your house is disgusting," her haughty tone drew his gaze to the same girl occupying his thoughts more than food or fighting. She sat in a chair, one she must have pulled out while he was away, her hands working on the dark fabric of one of the many waistcoats he owned. "I couldn't stay in there anymore."

Natsu scowled, wiping his face free of his sweat and sweeping his droopy hair off his forehead. "You decide to tear up my clothes, too?"

She glanced up from her work, the hazel of her eyes practically glowing in the dark and digging into him. "The thought didn't occur to me," she admitted and went back to whatever it was she was doing. "My village, _the one you burned_ -" he grimaced at the reminder. "-Specializes in supplying crops, hunting, medicine, and charming clothes. Luckily for you," she continued, holding the fabric up so he could see. "I'm part of the lucky few who could sew and recharm..."

At the sight of the waistcoat freed of holes and tears, the annoyance he felt faded, guilt and fatigue replacing it. "Erm- sorry," he uttered and turned his attention to the fish and boar he captured, grumbling to himself as he rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks a ton."

A soft snort reached his sensitive ears and he perked up. "Don't get used to it."

He smirked, a lightness in his stomach growing.

It gave him hope her hatred could fade, that they could even become friends. He wouldn't mind having a clothes charmer on his side when things got rough.

Without thinking it through, the pinkette turned on his heel. "Would it bother you if I used my magic?" he questioned, leaning to see her face.

Her uneasy frame grew taut and stiff, her pretty features twisting with discomfort and fear that screamed at him and the slayer frowned.

Sometimes he really wanted to punch himself. One step forward, he thought, burying his teeth in his bottom lip. Fifty-thousand back. He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. 

"Or," he was quick to backtrack, hoping against hope he didn't ruin the slight progress. "I could get Frosty to freeze this and we could go to town...?"

She was already shaking her head before he finished talking. "No," she muttered, rising from the handcrafted chair. "Just point me west and I'll be out of your hair."

It took an embarrassingly long moment to understand what it was she wanted, for him to aid her in leaving. "Nope," the slayer said flatly, shaking his head. "Nuh-uh. You haven't eaten or drank anything in over a day," he pointed out to her affronted glare. "You're injured and defenseless" he reasoned but she wasn't accepting it.

"I'm fine enough to clean your pig-sty house and patch up your ratty clothes!" the girl retorted, scowling fiercely. "I'm not staying with a guy who wrecked my village when they need my help rebuilding and caring for the injured!" she shouted.

His jaw ticked, frustration boiling his blood.

They've talked only a handful of times and she still kept throwing that in his face. He deserved it, he didn't think any differently, but it wasn't something that needed to be brought up every other sentence.

"I'm more than happy with trying to change the past," he began, growling. "I wish I could, but I can't! All I could do for now is make sure you get home safe and healed!" he paused, letting the crickets sing their lullabies. "Hell," he spat. "I'll even rebuild the whole damn place and learn healing magic to make it up to you!"

A ragged breath whooshed from her lungs, her pretty features taken aback before hardening with fierce protectiveness. "You're not coming near them-."

He admired it for a second, the guarded look in her hazel orb, before cutting her off. "I am," Natsu declared, diminishing the space between them in several quick steps. He stood over her, glaring down his nose at her while her shoulders tightened and she returned his look with equal intensity. "I'll make it bigger and better than it's ever been! I'll make sure everyone I hurt is healed!" when she still didn't look convinced, he barked out his final promise and it hurt to do. "I won't even use my fire when I'm with you guys!"

She frowned, a lone hazel eye flicking back and forth among his narrowed onyx. "Why do you want to change what I think of you so much?" she finally inquired, softly, and it floored him. How could she know he and Happy were having the same conversation the day before...? "If I never came to Fairy Tail and told you how I felt or what you did, you wouldn't give a crap about Rosco! When I came inside, you were _laughing_ with that blonde chick for god's sakes! You weren't thinking of the mission that brought you to my home two weeks ago!" by the end of her sentence, the burgundy haired girl was screaming, screaming so loud it nearly led to him clasping a hand over her mouth to stop his ears from aching like they were. "You were thinking 'Job well done!'"

The pinkette bit his tongue, holding in the lie that wanted to come spouting out. That she was wrong. That he wasn't having a good time at all. He remembered the mission she was talking about. It was just after they came home from Galuna Island. They were hunting down a group close to a town, Rosco, and Gray wrote it off as abandoned.

They caught the thieves after knocking them unconscious and the means were...brutal to say the least.

"You're right," he conceded, guilt flushing out his anger. "You're _right_ and I'm sorry for the damage I caused. On my scarf," he grasped the scaled fabric in white-knuckled fingers. "I _swear_ I'll do _anything_ and _everything_ to make it up to you," he swore. "But you have to stop hating my guild for what I did" he urged. "They didn't do anything and I-."

A dry laugh rolled through the air, Natsu frowning at the wry, bitter smile the woman wore. "The most your guild did was send an apology letter," she bit out, the scent of salt filling the air the same time her eye watered. "And it was nothing but generic things I've seen in Sorcerer Weekly when you guys go wild in other towns," her expression crumpled. "There were no promises of sending healers. No words of rebuilding what you destroyed-" he cringed when she sniffled. "There was nothing besides, 'Please excuse my guild! Children will be children!'" she mocked.

Sighing, he swiped a clawed hand through sweat damped hair. Damn. He couldn't believe it. Gramps knew about Rosco and never told him? Never made him right his wrongs? Natsu really couldn't believe it. That wasn't the Gramps who raised him.

He eyed the girl, cringing when he found her turned away with her face buried in her hands and the smell of salt thick in the air. "Look, er," he paused, realizing she never revealed her name. "Burgundy, I'll get my team together in the morning and we'll visit Porlyusica. She'll know how to work with your people, then we'll take you back to your village and make it home, again!"

A whimpered cry rang in his ears, his heart aching at the piercing sound of it. "I already told you I don't want you near any of them!"

Natsu rolled his eyes, stretching to grasp her shoulder -the healthy one- and gently tugged until she was facing him.

He was surprised she let him touch her, even more so when he pulled her hands from her face and made her look at him. "You've got no say when it comes to this," he told her. "We -I- tore your village apart. We could put it together."


	3. 3: Why Wouldn't I?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezra takes off and discovers a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for taking so long with this! My inspiration is like a rollercoaster guys, I swear... Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

**3: Why Wouldn't I?**

Ezra itched to slap his hands from her face but, with all the remaining strength in her, refrained.

She spotted no lie; no hint of deception in his wide, onyx eyes, and because of that, she felt a little better about mulling his offer over. That and she wasn't one to kick a gift horse in the mouth, deserved or no.

"Alright," she conceded, grimacing when he didn't budge, and her annoyed expression contorted with embarrassed gruffness. "Just because I'm agreeing doesn't mean you can get touchy-feely!" she snapped. 

Salamander immediately yanked his hands away as if she were the one who burned him, with apologies falling profusely from his mouth.

Ezra huffed, dropping her glare from his fretful eyes onto the ground. "And it doesn't mean I hate you any less," she grumbled needlessly, hoping if she hurt his feelings he wouldn't want to be around her as much. "Happy on the other hand..." she trailed half-jokingly, thinking of the blue feline who was still dozing to his heart's content.

The pinkette shot her an affronted look and he began muttering obscenities under his breath as he turned, completely missing her small, amused grin, and stalked to the creatures he caught.

With a sigh, she sank into the chair she dragged out while he began the tedious tasks of cleaning and disemboweling his prey.

Ezra watched him work, idly fiddling with the fabric of his orange trimmed waistcoat as he rolled his shoulders and prepared for a good hour's worth of work. Almost as soon as he began working, she took notice of the fluidity of his movements in minor surprise, figuring he would haul his prey to the closest butcher.

Surprise, surprise, the man's not all that prissy...

It shocked her he knew how to do something so barbaric yet so similar to the men back home. City folk knowing how to hunt, kill, skin, gut, and disembowel an animal? She supposed, as her hazel eyes drifted to the shadowed forestry around them, the pinkette wasn't much of a city person.

It shocked her even more he was working with the light of the moon and not his magic.

"Er- Natsu?" she murmured, faltering. Maybe asking him why he wasn't using his fire wasn't a good idea... "That is your name, right?"

He peeked at her from over his shoulder hesitantly, almost like he was afraid she would snip at him for looking at her, while his busy hands paused from where they were wrist-deep in his boar. "Natsu Dragneel, yeah," he offered a toothy grin. "Something wrong?"

She gave her head a curt shake. "No," she answered softly. A cool breeze fluttered through the air and her eyes fluttered shut and she basked in the cooling atmosphere. "I-uh, I just thought it'd be better calling you by your name instead of Salamander or life ruiner."

Natsu scoffed, a squelchy sound that had her grimacing sounding from his direction. "If we're sharing names, don't you think I should know yours? It's boring calling you 'brat' and 'short stuff' in my head" he retorted.

She shot his hunched shoulders an irate glare. "My name's Ezra Takami," she bit out. "Not brat and definitely not short stuff!"

She watched his back visibly stiffen until his spine was straighter than a pole and flinched when onyx orbs were clashing with hers. "Erza?"

The woman frowned. "No, you pink-haired fire maniac! Ezra! Ez-ra," she pronounced slowly as if he were a child. "They have the same letters but they're mixed up."

He pulled a face, one that was confused and perturbed, as he sounded her name out, mouthing it a few times to get used to it. After a minute, he stopped and shot her a sheepish grin. "That'll be confusing when Erza's around," he chuckled, returning to his task. "I'll probably just call you short stuff, though."

She felt her eye twitch. "Do that and _I'll_ burn _you_..."

~

The pinkette finished cleaning the meat half an hour later, muttering a request for her to fetch Happy while he lit the bonfire and she was more than glad for the offered escape while he was doing so. 

When she got to Natsu and Happy's bedroom, instead of waking the snoozing fur ball, Ezra carefully scooped him into her arms with a disdainful sigh aimed toward herself.

She utterly despised how head over heels she had fallen for the little feline and she hated how grateful she was because he was there to soften her loathing toward his pink-haired friend.

Once she was outside, the burgundy haired woman reclaimed her seat, eyes locked cautiously with the raging inferno of red and orange flames.

It was too close. Too hot. Was it just her or was the smoke burning her throat all over again?

Nausea claimed her as the heat carried by the breeze washed over her and she was quick to maneuver Happy to one arm while she used the other to yank her chair closer to the house and further from the fire pit.

"It's almost done," Natsu promised, poking at a fish ran through with a metal rod. "Just a few more minutes and bye-bye fire."

Ezra nodded, even though he was too busy checking the meat's cooks to see. She simply closed her eyes, fingers massaging Happy's ears while she tried silencing her grumbling stomach by digging an elbow into the stiff flesh or breathing through her mouth. Neither trick worked.

She stirred when light steps disturbing the earth under approaching feet and opened her eyes just in time for a plate of steaming meat to appear beneath her nose. 

Her mouth pooled with saliva that she gulped down, hunger pains stabbing her fiercer and fiercer the longer she hesitated to accept the offered plate.

"Take it," Natsu encouraged, pushing it further under her nose. She obeyed, muttering a quiet 'thank you'. "No problem" he grinned, walking off to divvy up the rest for him and Happy.

Ezra found herself watching him again, her breathing coming a little easier when he followed through with his promise of putting out the fire by drowning the embers with a couple of buckets of water.

Natsu came back, three plates stacked high balanced in his arms. He strode to the entrance of his home with confidant steps, secure in the knowledge he wouldn't spill the food all over himself and she couldn't decide if she was impressed or bitter about it. "Would you mind waking him up?" the pinkette questioned, glancing at her while he toed up his front door. "Don't be surprised if he calls you a name."

The healing woman hid her grin, following after him into the much cleaner living room where he set the three plates on the table and strode into another room.

Ezra set the cat on the futon, murmuring his name while rocking him until his large eyes fluttered open and narrowed on her. "I was dreaming about fish...," he whined, yawning around his words. He grumbled some more, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "Why'd you have to wake me up?"

She wordlessly gestured to one of the plates stacked with lightly cooked fish and immediately, the cat lit up.

He popped up with a feline grin and hearts in his eyes. "In this case," he chirped, stretching a twitching paw out. "You're forgiven!"

Grinning at the cheeky nature, Ezra shuffled further from the couch so Natsu had a comfortable seat.

Lowering herself onto the floor, she grew baffled by her consideration of his comfort, wondering why repeatedly in her head while her face scrunched. She stared at the plate in her lap, frown pensive as she observed the dark meat. It didn't matter anyway she decided. After sleeping in his bed for who knew how long while he took care of her, she figured she should bite down some of the contempt she had for him.

"Why aren't you eating?"

She blinked, lifting her gaze to the center of the room where the frowning pinkette stood with his hands full of cups and silverware.

He cocked his head, brows furrowing at her. "Well?" he demanded, carefully placing everything beside the food. "Something upsetting you?"

Cheeks puffing, the young woman shook her head. She grasped a fork with a shaky hand and tucked in before he could question her anymore.

When she was finished, the pinkette plucked her plate from her clutches and slid more meat from the untouched dish still residing on the coffee table.

He handed it back to her, brows perked in silent challenge when he met her squinted eyes. "Eat," he commanded, giving the edge of it a light tap with his thumb. "Food isn't common when you're traveling. Take my word for it."

She grimaced, wanting to argue but the gurgling of her stomach won her over and she sighed. Stupid hunger...

A lot like her first plate, Ezra finished it quickly. She set it on the table and splayed out on the floor, hoping to every deity out there Natsu wouldn't load more food onto her plate. She nearly cried in relief when he started picking up the messes -something he clearly didn't do often judging by the miffed frown on his face.

He was gone for a few minutes, striding back in and scaring her with the sudden boom of his voice. "Alright! All that's left tonight is baths -I don't want to hear your mouth, Happy- and your," her eyes flew open when he nudged her extended calf with his toes. "Burns need to air out at least an hour-" she stiffened, defenses raising at the thought of exposing them to him. "-I'll put more medicine on 'em, too."

She didn't get to protest because Happy was already doing some of his own. "But the water's cold this time of night!" he cried despite what the pinkette said. "And you burned the last of our towels!"

"You're the one who was freaking out over fish!" Natsu snapped. "It's not my fault I burned 'em, not when you're the punk who threw the things in the water!"

Happy's scoff rang in her ears. "It is when you don't know how to control your magic!" he retorted, stubbornly folding his paws over his chest. "I'm not taking a bath, Natsu!"

The pinkette growled under his breath, looking seconds from blowing steam from his ears. "Then no fish for a week!-" the betrayed look on Happy's face ate at her. "-If I catch so much as a whiff from you, I'll do something I haven't thought of yet!" he threatened and she was quick to muffle her snort. They sounded more like a bantering father and son. "Oh, yeah! I'll have Lucy keep you for a few days!"

The blue feline gasped, looking appalled by the threat.

A glance towards Natsu and his triumphant smirk told her who won this argument.

"Fine!" the cat conceded, huffing. "I'll bathe but it won't be with you!"

~~~

After their baths -separate of course- Ezra shifted uncomfortably on Natsu's futon, the man himself smearing a goopy mixture of aloe vera and herbal cream that fought infection across the length of her forearm. 

Since he sent Happy off to bed after coming back from washing the day's grime away, the pinkette had been silent; unnaturally so.

It might have been because he was exhausted or his feline friend put him in a mood but deep down, Ezra knew it was because her burns were exposed.

Initially, she feared him seeing the extent of what his negligence caused. She feared the thought of him taking pleasure in her pain and disfigurement even more... But he didn't seem like the sadistic-type. He didn't seem like the type to burn her home to ashes, either.

She was conflicted, a war raging in her head. Should she be letting him play doctor with her? Or should she be telling him to shove it?

"Are they hurting?"

She jumped at the sound of his hushed voice, wide eyes darting to him.

Natsu returned her stare, onyx orbs churning as they flicked over the expanse of her face, specifically her left side.

Ezra shrank from him, shaking her hair free from her shoulder to block his sight. "No," she lied, her fib causing them to sting. "No one other than me and the doctors has seen them..."

His eyes widened twice their size and she could hear the sharp intake of breath he sucked down. "Are you serious?"

She nodded slowly, grimacing at herself and her inability to keep to quiet. The longer she went on, the more fuel she gave him. "Yeah," she murmured, hazels falling onto the floor. She wanted to staple her mouth shut. "I saw them in the mirror once and I..." she trailed, unable to say anymore.

Natsu seemed to understand, lips pursing while his expression hardened. He fell silent again, his touch growing more gentle while rubbing in the concoction over the left side of her face.

After he was finished and was packing things up, he uttered something, something she never expected anyone to say before taking his leave and closing his door behind him for the night. 

"There's nothing to be ashamed of."

~~

Ezra tossed and turned until the sun's rays peeked through the windows and by that time, she already shed the clothes Natsu lent her and replaced them with hers.

Minus the trenchcoat and bandages.

She set his folded clothes on the coffee table, risking one last glance at the pinkette's closed door before tip-toeing out of the front door into the early spring air. The burgundy-haired woman made sure it latched and trotted in the opposite direction of the eastern sun.

She ducked under a few low hanging branches, uttering a curse when leaves caught in her hair. Quick, nimble fingers freed them from her sore scalp and she was off again, trying to lengthen the distance between her, Natsu, and Happy as fast as she could.

Did she feel guilty for not saying 'bye'? One hundred percent. Was she feeling apprehensive about her hatred for Salamander and his beloved guild? A little.

Like he said, would a monster take the time to nurse someone who voiced their hatred for them? She didn't think so.

She continued sprinting until she came across a familiar clearing and circled it, scanning each tree critically while taking the time to catch her breath. Soon enough, she stumbled on what it was she was searching for, a crudely carved waxing crescent moon.

Ezra allowed herself a tiny smile, giving the carving a couple of fond pats before she was stepping away and taking off until she came across another. Then another. And another. She followed them until she arrived on the outskirts of her home village.

Wheezing and panting, she hunched over and leaned a majority of her weight into her knees. After a minute, when she finally caught her breath, she dashed further into the skeleton of her town, hazel eyes glowing when they caught sight of a couple of frames for new buildings.

"Ah, Ezra!"

She skidded to an abrupt halt, looking forlornly in the direction she had been running in before swiveling her head this way and that for the person who called her. Quickly becoming confused -and mildly frustrated- when she couldn't locate the voice that called out to her, she was seconds from giving up and heading to the tent sitting off to the side from the others until that same weathered croak called for her.

Her attention was snagged by an older, greyed man with his skin and bones looking close to melding together.

Bard, one of the elders.

He was hobbling closer, leaning heavily on a cane while his bright eyes shifted side to side in an anxious manner before settling on her again.

Ezra frowned. "You should be resting," she admonished, trotting to his side. She wrapped a guiding arm around him, leveling the hunched man a chiding stare. "You're too old to be walking around like you are."

Her comment earned her a well-deserved swat upside the head, the woman rubbing at the tender spot absently as she led him to the tent where the elders of the village were kept.

"We were worried when you didn't come home yesterday..." the elder trailed, grunting when she lowered him onto his cot. "Magnolia's only a day's walk."

Lips pursing, she gathered his blanket in her hands and pulled it under his chin. "Unfortunately," she murmured, returning her hands to her sides. Ezra stared into his wise eyes, biting her inner cheek as she worked how to explain what occurred. "Things don't turn out how we plan," she muttered, finally, not wanting to cause his old heart any more stress. She could tell him after she visited her family. "Do you-do you know how Mom and Dad are doing?" she asked, changing the subject to her loved ones. "Yasha?"

The greying man shook his head. "No, kid," he muttered. "Our healers are working 'round the clock to help 'em."

Her jaw clenched, the building hopes she felt stirring in her stomach crashing. She nodded her understanding anyway, wanting to keep her frustrations under wraps until she was alone. 

The man she tucked in hummed. "You seem different," Bard noted, eyes hooded when she shot him a furrow-browed stare. "Less angry."

Ezra offered a grim smile. "My trip was enlightening," she supplied quietly, shifting her weight. "Do you need anything else? I'm gonna-."

"Ezra."

Something in his weathered tone gave her chills, an odd, frightening reaction she never felt around anyone from her village until that moment.

A sense of foreboding bubbled the longer their stares held and he didn't utter anything else until he was well and sure he had her complete attention. He swallowed, old jaw clenching. "While you were gone, my son-."

Her attention shifted to the mouth of the medical tent where rushing footfalls and haggard breathing sounded, her eyes rounding at the alarm slewed over the hunter's face while he gasped and leaned heavily onto his knees.

"S-sir! He's-he's back! The demon's back!"

Her brows scrunched all the more, a concern different from theirs raising its head. The only one they called 'demon' was Natsu and he should not have been able to track her down so quickly. It would have taken him until the next day at least if he was as good as a tracker as she thought he was.

She went to follow the man, to check the situation out and confirm if it was really the pinkette when she was yanked back.

Ezra hissed, shooting her gaze to the bony fingers wrapped tightly around her tender wrist. "Why're you...-"

"Listen to me!" Bard snapped, ignoring her pained squirming, and yanked her closer, so close she could smell the death clinging to his skin. "While you were gone, my son made a deal with a dark guild-" her eyes widened the same time her jaw dropped.

They had no dealings with dark guilds! They didn't even sell their produce to a town that was known to have a couple in it! How did they find one? she wondered.

The plan, from what she was told by everyone, was to plead their case with the magic council and have them disbanded and locked away. When did the plan change?

"-Kill the demon and they'll get their pick of anything their heart desires," Bard snarled and the organ in her chest thundered so hard, she felt it in her throat. "They discovered you existed, your magic, and they-."

Lower lip trembling, the burgundy haired woman muffled the cries that wanted to come airing out. "You sold me out?" she choked, wishing he would say 'just kidding' and go back to being the stern man she knew him as.

Betrayal hit her harder than Natsu's fire when the elder nodded without an ounce of guilt.

She buried her teeth into her bottom lip, wincing when her healing burns stretched.

Out of all the people she expected who would betray her, the people who had a hand in raising her were the very last on the list.

The desperate man shook her, yanking her out of her heartwrenching thoughts with his nails digging into her healing wounds. "It was to avenge all we lost!" he shouted, spit flying from his mouth and onto her cheek.

Ezra tore her wrist from his grasp, staggering out of reach with venom in her eyes. "We lost our belongings and income! Most of us were injured!" her shout verged onto a scream that left her throat aching. "No one died!"

Further away, outside of the tent and near the ruins, she heard more yells that tore at her splitting heart.

They were fighting him. With words and, if she listened close enough, weapons.

She couldn't stand it! Natsu swore he would do everything in his power to make things right; to rebuild what he destroyed. He wasn't evil like they all thought.

 _How could I make them see he's not bad?_ she thought, feeling her time ticking. "Elder, I talked to him!" she admitted, watching his eyes widen. She stepped closer, willing him to listen and abandon the dark guild plan. "I talked to Natsu and he said he'd help us! He said he'd-!"

His eyes sharpened and she knew she lost him. Her chance was up. "If you're not with us, you're against us."

Another stab of betrayal pierced her stomach, a ragged sob tearing from her throat.

Knees trembling while she staggered closer to the exit, she knew trying to persuade him anymore would get her nowhere. Talking was pointless, at least to him. 

"If this-if this was a day ago," she rasped, swallowing a wriggling ball of emotion. "If I didn't see who he was, I'd be okay with killing him," she admitted and it made her cry harder.

Poor Happy would be left in a home without the man who acted as a surrogate father and treated him with as much love and warmth as one. He wouldn't get his fish. He wouldn't get to have his back and forth or playful banter. He wouldn't have that sweet, toothy grin aimed at him when he passed out on the couch...

A sob wrenched its way from her throat. "I'd be okay with being sold off if it meant avenging what we lost but I've seen him!" her voice rose until she was shouting the words; screaming them because they were whirling in her head and there was no escape for them besides right back in the air.

Natsu took such good care of her despite her cruel words. He felt guilt for what he did. He wanted to fix it. He swore to her he would. She wouldn't let them hurt him or sell her off to a bunch of people who would like her pain and their suffering!

She spun, ripping the tent open while tossing a frosty glare over her shoulder. "I've known you all my life, but I'm just seeing you. I've known Natsu and Happy a day and they're more real than you ever were."

She left then, racing to where she heard the majority of the conflict taking place -in the center of the village now- and he was there. Right there, fighting off people -ones she knew and grew up with- left, right, and backward, scowling all the while.

Her heart ached for him. He promised he would make it up to them and they were plotting to kill him regardless.

Ezra clenched her fists, mentally preparing herself for the task ahead. She breathed deeply, absorbing all the magic her healing body could hold, and reached for the chaotic magic that thrashed and flared within him.

Swallowing thickly, she latched onto it with her eyes clenching shut, prepared to cast the spell that would forever change her future. "Support magic!" it flared to life, causing the breeze to pick up until it was yanking her hair around in violent twists. "Natsu!" her link with him strengthened and she winced at the burning heat that kissed her cheeks and the orange shining through her eyelids.

The sounds of combat were so loud, they blocked what she could hear around her. She didn't realize until it was too late someone was closing in on her and when she did, she was knocked onto her back with a giant hand locked around her throat.

Her eyes flew open, mouth opening to suck down the stolen air while she simultaneously fought to keep her link with Natsu strong; to keep feeding him her magic until there were no more enemies after him.

"Oh, so you're the one with the support magic?" a chirpy voice crooned and she narrowed her eyes in a glare. "How nifty! You know, you're uglier than your folks made you out to be," he mused, grinning when she tried twisting the scarring part of her face from his sight. The nameless, bald man tutted, cupping her jaw to halt her movements. "Your magic's strong as hell, though, so your looks are forgiven!"

She wrapped her hands around his wrist, digging her nails in. "Get. Off. Of. Me!" she snarled.

He chuckled, not seeming to mind his flesh being dug into. "You mad I called you ugly?" he cooed, thick fingers squeezing her cheeks together, making them ache and her burns sting. "That's adorable!"

Ezra squirmed, eyes stinging as her confidence plunged even further from when the bandit insulted her.

"Ezra!"

The vicious call of her name drew her eyes to where she sensed Natsu encroaching on them, the heat of his flames easy to feel even from the distance between them.

"Uh, oh!" the man chuckled, attention on the approaching pinkette, too. "The big, bad fairy's pissed," his gaze returned to her, amusement shining in his laughing eyes. "He must've taken one look at you and fallen into a rage, cause Honey... You're uber gross, ya know?"

Ezra clenched her eyes shut, tears flowing over her cheeks and his hands before she could stop them and the man guffawed, sending her deeper into the recesses of her mind.

The sound of a fist against flesh echoed in her cotton-stuffed ears and she flinched when the weight on top of her disappeared, Natsu's enraged roar ricocheting over every surface of the area. "You shut the hell up!"

The burgundy haired woman rolled onto her hands and knees, a haggard yelp spilling from her lips when sweltering hands pulled her to her feet and against an equally warm side.

"Don't you dare listen to a word he says," Natsu ordered, her eyes fluttering open to blink at the murderous stare the pinkette was directing over her shoulder. His eyes cut to her and she was startled to see the abrupt, clear as day color in them. Olive green. "He's a dick that needs his ass kicked," the murderous glint in his eyes faded the longer he stared at her. "Wanna help me?"

There wasn't an ounce of hesitation. "Yeah," she murmured and felt more tears stream over her face. He unknowingly proved her early point correct. He felt guilt. He was good. He would have never hurt them if he had known their village was occupied. These dark guild mages could care less.

"Support magic!" with a vengeance, the surrounding magical energy invaded her body causing a whirlwind of air to sweep her hair toward the sky. "Natsu!" she reconnected their link, his name the key for a complete bond.

The Fairy Tail mage smirked, long, wide, and dangerous as his olive greens returned to his target. He released her and she sank onto her knees with her remaining strength while he disappeared from her side in a blink of an eye.

Ezra swiped her blurring tears from her vision with an impatient brush of her hand, hazel orbs looking to where Natsu was burying flaming fists into the man who single-handedly shattered her confidence.

The pinkette kicked the man into a pile of dirt, his body bouncing from the ground and careening into a cluster of trees from the sheer strength behind Natsu's leg; shouts and curses spilling into the air until they were inaudible.

Natsu snarled in his direction, olive orbs flicking to the people -all villagers- around him, dangerous intent clear. If they messed with him, they would meet the same fate. Some of them backed away, hands raised in surrender, while the others scoffed and shot her hunched body accusing glares.

Cringing, she bowed her head, unable to look at them while her connection with the pinkette wavered before completely severing. With a grunt, she collapsed onto the ground, body trembling from the mix of injuries -new and old- and overuse of her magic.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Her upper half was yanked off the earth, Natsu's concerned frown hovering over her and blocking the afternoon sun.

"No passing out!" he forbade, both of them grunting when he plopped onto his butt. He maneuvered her into a comfier position in his lap with his arms supporting her before speaking again. "You're not allowed until my friends get here."

She cracked a grin. "Using my magic takes a lot out of me," she mumbled, hoping to wriggle some leeway. "Giving it to you wore me out more than normal."

He chuckled and she knew he would keep her awake for a week if he thought she needed it. "Does that mean you're forgiving me?" he trailed, sounding so hopeful it almost made her give in and say she already had but that would be a lie.

"It'll take more than saving me twice, Dragneel," she scoffed, closing her eyes against his shadowed pout. She allowed her small smile to widen a minuscule. "But yes." It was definitely a start.

Natsu hummed. "I don't think your people agree, short stuff," he muttered, voice far off. "They're lookin' at me like they wanna eat my cat."

A disturbing image of the villagers spinning Happy over an open fire entered her mind and she cringed. "You did burn our village," she muttered, scrambling for some kind of middle ground. She didn't have enough strength to power him up again in case he or they decided to lock horns again. "And hurt a lot of people. And-."

His warm palm covered her mouth. "I get the point," he interrupted flatly, earning himself a disgruntled stare. "I'll still help everyone" he took his hand away, freeing her to frown.

Hazel orbs popped open, narrowing into a squint due to the sun, and stared at Natsu's profile. "You'd do something like that for the -for the people who were paying to have you killed?" she asked softly.

Natsu was staring off to the side features shrouded with golden light that made his skin glow a beautiful olive tone. His stare was glum, lip frowning with his nose wrinkled in distaste.

When he registered her question, he dropped his gaze into her with that frown turning confused. "Why wouldn't I? This was my fault, Ez," he muttered. "I gotta make it up to everyone."

There was no more of a beautiful person to her at that moment that Natsu Dragneel. He was a rugged guy with a hair-trigger temper and had a fighting spirit that was too big for his own good, but he had a heart of solid gold.

If they met differently, Ezra would be putty in his hands and she knew it.

She smiled a rueful smile, mourning the loss of getting to know him in another life. "You're a sweet guy, you know that?" she murmured and his eyes narrowed dubiously.

"How hard did you hit your head?"


End file.
